Plagued

As the hardy adventurers made their way through the ruins of Vor Rukoth they rounded a corner and spied 5 dwarfs in a crossroads.  Several of the dwarfs had crossbows and others had cutlasses.  As they party moved forward the dwarfs moved in to attack.  Demin started by firing his crossbow at the dwarfs, the response was a flurry of crossbow bolts followed by the advancement of the dwarfs with swords.


Melisana cast written in fire around the enemy and Lythandar cast a burst which eliminated some of the crossbow wielding dwarfs.   Mara and Pretis advanced to take on the sword wielding enemy.  So far thing seemed relatively easy but a couple of other dwarfs with crossbows emerged from the side alleys and two more moved to the crossroads followed by a robed dwarf.  There followed a burst of Dark Flames causing fire and necrotic damage to several party members.  Alhellara cast Astral Defenders to block the new dwarfs at the crossroads and Melisana flew(!) up to a rooftop and slid around some of the party members.  Just as things were again settling down a large animate emerged from the ruins and caused a burst of poison damage to four of the party members.  

All out battle followed as Mara and Gofin found themselves plagued with tentacles that damaged them and also any fellow party members around them.  The animate would grab a character and pull them close whilst the dwarf "Arcanist" kept up the flow of bursts and rays further damaging the party.  One last time there was a burst of poison damage from the animate but soon the enemy all lay dead.  A short rest followed by a search found 2,000 GP amongst the dwarfs.

Wanting to get to the Ruby Court quickly the party pressed forward into an area that was made up of more substantial buildings.  Several large building could be seen in an octagonal plaza which the group ignored, they passed a large stone building and continued to a gate into the Ruby Court.  The large buildings of the Ruby Court were built of rose quartz and red marble and they surrounded a large plaza.  The plaza was overgrown and scorched by gouts of fire.  In the center of the plaza stood a large marble statue of a male human.

The party started searching for the "library" knowing that it was probably not physically located in the Court.  They found several magical sigils which when reactivated allowed the party to transport to the library.  The group then spent several hours combing the library for information regarding Tovag Baragu.  They found the following information.

• Tovag Baragu (Navel of the Oerth) also known as the "Stone Circles" lies on the salty shore of Lake Udrukankar, south and west of Coyote's Refuge past the Skull Fields in the heart of the Dry Steppes.  It is a mysterious structure of massive stone blocks.
• Tovag Baragu is ancient, although its precise origins are unknown.  Most scholars believe it is the only surviving structure of an old human empire.  An event known as the Invoked Devastation destroyed that empire.
• Steppe nomads who inhabit the locale hold the Stone Circles to be holy ground.
• People attribute strange magical powers to Tovag Baragu.  Explorers' journals describe how distant scenes were magnified when viewed through the stone arches, while some scenes may have been scryed magically.
• Some believe that Tovag Baragu can scry distant times and places, and that it might even provide a gate to these locations.
• Tovag Baragu is somehow important to a cult of Vecna worshipers.  According to the lore of some recordkeepers, the cult enjoyed a resurgence almost twenty years ago, although it was stifled.  About seven to ten years ago the faithful congregated once more, and those who answered the call supposedly convened at Tovag Baragu.

As the group was wandering around the library they were approached by an elderly human who introduced himself as the Luminary.  He asked about the party and their purpose.  When questioned about the seemingly new data in the library he explained that researchers still came to update the information whenever they could.  Even though the library was in a timeless demiplane it still was kept up to date.  He said he was the 7th Luminary since the Day of the Devils.  He indicated that the party could stay as long as they wished, but that the only way out was back to the Ruby Court.

Scorecard:  The group earned 743 XP for the battle with the Dwarfs and Plague Fragment, and another 343 XP for finding the library.  They now have 27633 XP and need 4367 more to reach 12th level.  As stated before 2000 GP was added to the stash of the party.